Hannah Sugita was selected to receive Lutheran Education Association’s 2021 Outstanding New Lutheran Elementary Teacher Award.
She has taught one year of third grade at Our Shepherd Lutheran School in Avon, Indiana. Hannah graduated with a degree in education with a concentration in ESL and a Lutheran Teacher Diploma from Concordia University Nebraska.
Among Hannah’s joys in teaching, she said, “I find great joy in the moments when students independently explain and share the life skills learned in the classroom to areas outside the classroom. The greatest joy is when students grow in their love of learning and start to take ownership over their learning.”
Hannah’s nominator supported her selection by saying, “Hannah demonstrates an extraordinary commitment to her students and their families. …her maturity and composure are a mark of the work of the Holy Spirit in her heart. She has established restoration routines of students who have misbehaved…modeled after how Jesus restores all of us. After only a year and a half of teaching, Hannah has established herself as a woman of God who is committed to sharing the love of Jesus through educational excellence.”
The school administrator further supported Hannah’s selection. “Hannah develops relationships with her students and parents and continues to foster them throughout the year in a genuine and personal manner. Her desire to be the hands and feet of Christ, to show love and humility, to model servanthood, and to teach in a way that benefits and grows the child academically, spiritually, emotionally, and socially drives her curriculum and interactions.”
Hannah’s pastor concurs with what others said. “Hannah not only shines as a teacher in our school, but she shines in the public as well with the Gospel! She regularly sings in our contemporary worship services and volunteers at church activities. She is also active in the local Bible study fellowship group.”
Hannah’s mission statement is “to provide students with meaningful opportunities to practice authentic application of classroom expectations based around Scripture to reflect the love of Christ. It is my goal to help students feel safe in their learning in order to find individual success.”